Problem Statement
According to Barksdale et al. (2022), racial disparities in mental health have been a well-known problem that has impacted multiple populations across generations. For example, a recent study showed that Hispanic and Asian adolescents were more likely to suffer from mood disorders than any other sub-group in the United States Barksdale et al. (2022). At the same time, Black and Hispanic kids were likely to exude disruptive behavior disorders. Suicide thoughts were closely associated with Native Americans compared to other minority groups. The studies also showed that mental health disorders were usually more severe among minorities compared to white counterparts (Barksdale et al., 2022). The racial disparity in mental health was depicted even more clearly during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Thomeer et al. (2023), mental health status among minority communities such as Hispanic, Asian, and Black individuals worsened during the pandemic.
Thomeer et al. (2023) study noted there was a noted increase in depression and anxiety among minorities compared to their white counterparts. The racial disparity in mental health is a social problem because it impacts how individuals from these minority communities behave and interact with those around them. So, an increase in racial disparities in mental health is likely to breed other social problems, such as homelessness, poverty, and violent crime in minority communities (Radhakrishnan et al., 2021). It is due to the suffering individual’s inability to function appropriately as a community member. According to Barksdale et al. (2022), the only way society can accomplish mental health equity is by solving the disparities in mental health; it is the reason why studying racial disparities in mental health among minority populations is vital. The primary step in genuinely understanding racial disparities in mental health is studying what are the contributing factors that have cultivated the issues. By establishing what factors have contributed to racial disparities, it is then easier for society to address the problem.
Literature Review
One can describe racial disparities as visible imbalances and the differences in societal features among various racial groups. Racial disparities are an issue usually founded on institutionalized racism and discrimination. According to Ruiz-White et al. (2023), institutionalized racism and discrimination that cause racial disparities can trace their roots to during the enslavement period. Even after the end of slavery, American society continued to promote racism and discrimination through various legal means, such as the Black Codes and Jim Crow (Ruiz-White et al., 2023). American society created racially restrictive policies.
The racially restrictive policies had a massive impact on minority communities, causing racial disparities in every sector of society. For example, white communities had access to better education, healthcare, and job opportunities than other groups. They lived in safe and affordable housing far from other minority communities. Ruiz-White et al. (2023) showcase the racial disparity that exists in the 21st century by noting that life expectancy for White Americans was 49 years while the Black counterpart was 30 years. They were better positioned to create wealth for the next generation while minority communities struggled to make ends meet. These societal disparities created an unequal developmental environment between White communities and minorities (Acker et al., 2023). Even after Jim Crow, the effects of racial disparity continue to linger today. Disparities in socioeconomic status have contributed to individuals from minority communities struggling to access quality mental health services; this is a factor that has led to racial disparities in mental health. According to Miller (2022), a recent study showed that lack of access to quality mental health services has led individuals from minority communities to suffer from severe and debilitating mental health problems. Communities are still experiencing the segregation of the Jim Crow era, where minority neighborhoods were without vital social amenities such as healthcare entities.
Individuals in minority communities struggle to find healthcare providers in their neighborhoods who offer mental health services, even those who can afford them. According to Miller (2022), healthcare providers in minority neighborhoods usually avoid setting up mental healthcare offices in these communities as a significant portion lack medical coverage, and sometimes the out-of-pocket costs are too expensive for them. Individuals from minority communities are left to struggle with mental health conditions, causing the racial disparities society is witnessing. As aforementioned, racism and racial disparities did not end with Jim Crow. Racism is also a massive contributing factor to racial disparities in mental health. According to Miller (2022), most minorities, especially Blacks and Hispanics, have been underrepresented in mental health research. It means that few experts in the field of mental health pay needed attention to problems facing these communities. Those who do usually lack the in-depth knowledge on issues that these minority communities face that might contribute to mental health problems. Structural racism causes the lack of opportunities in the field of mental health. Minorities also face a tremendous amount of racism and discrimination compared to their white counterparts, which can impact their mental health status. Racism also leads to racial disparities in mental health treatment. For example, some medical practitioners usually have this misconception built on a racial stereotype that people of color do not consume prescribed drugs, hence unlikely to be offered to them during treatment Miller (2022). One can only describe it as disparity because there is unequal care dispensation. In such situations, the condition of individuals from minority communities worsens. The circumstance develops a stigma towards healthcare services, which contributes to racial disparities.
According to Ozlem et al. (2020), there is a stigma among minority groups towards mental health disorders and the care involved. One can trace the theory around this stigma towards healthcare during the pseudoscience era when the scientific community used minorities for medical research. Scientists used individuals from these communities as guinea pigs for unethical experiments such as eugenics (Royal, 2023). Ozlem et al. (2020) study explains that most minority groups view individuals with mental disorders as dangerous and unpredictable, even those suffering from common mental issues such as anxiety, stress, and depression. The CDC (2023) notes that such kind of stigma usually leads to individuals refusing to seek care services, which contributes to racial disparities in mental health. Across all the studies, there are few consistent findings.
Some of the common findings in research are that racial disparities in mental health are caused by societal inequalities and discrimination that have existed for a long time. The studies note that these inequalities have led to minorities struggling to access quality healthcare, affordable housing, and better education. Lack of access to these vital social amenities means that they cannot address issues mental health problems, leading to the existing disparities. The controversy that was identified in the research is that some studies show that mental health problems are more common in White communities compared to their counterparts (APA, 2024). In countering this argument, other researchers note that some studies do not include groups such as the homeless and the incarcerated when conducting research in minority communities. The groups excluded from the studies will likely skew the findings another way.
Research Question
What steps should society take to solve the issue of racial disparities in mental health?
Hypothesis
Addressing societal inequalities will solve racial disparities in mental health.
Conclusion and Implication
The primary point of the proposal is that to address the issue of racial disparities; society needs to have an in-depth understanding of the problem and the societal factors that contribute to its existence. The following literature has discussed racial disparities in mental health and what is causing it. It is clear that one can trace racial disparities as far back as during the enslavement period. However, even after that period ended, society found ways to discriminate and disfranchise minority communities. The discrimination and disfranchisement of particular groups led to unequal access to education, healthcare, and other socioeconomic opportunities. The effects of the inequalities are felt today. Due to their low socioeconomic status means minorities cannot access quality mental health services. Years of discrimination and racism have led to minorities being underrepresented in the mental health field. All these have contributed to racial disparities in mental health.
Society needs to address the issue of racial disparities in mental health since it contributes to social issues such as homelessness, violence, and poverty in minority communities. When social issues become a massive problem, they will become a burden to social workers whose primary role is helping struggling individuals in communities. This is why this study is vital for the discipline of social work, as it will solve racial disparities in mental health, which will, in turn, address various social issues. The research will influence policy by offering policymakers recommendations on solving racial disparities in mental health. The study also influences practice and research by educating other researchers that various issues affect societal groups differently. Most studies focus on what factors contribute to racial disparities in mental health; a few offer recommendations on how to solve the problem; the following research aims to fill that gap.
References
Acker, J., Aghaee, S., Mujahid, M., Deardorff, J., & Kubo, A. (2023). Structural Racism and Adolescent Mental Health Disparities in Northern California. JAMA Network Open, 6(8), e2329825-e2329825. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.29825
American Psychological Association (APA). (2024). Ethnic and racial minorities and socioeconomic status. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/minorities
Barksdale, C. L., Pérez-Stable, E., & Gordon, J. (2022). Innovative directions to advance mental health disparities research. American Journal of Psychiatry, 179(6), 397-401. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.ajp.21100972&hl=en&sa=T&oi=ucasa&ct=ufr&ei=gQ7WZZ3dBKO66rQP67aHgAY&scisig=AFWwaeYWDEm5HGFJujf5R6Om3O5X
Miller N.S., (2022). Racial Disparities in Mental Health Care: An Explainer and Research Roundup. https://journalistsresource.org/home/racial-disparities-mental-health/
Ozlem, E., De Wit, L., Van Straten, A., Steubl, L., Melissourgaki, Z., Danışman, G. T., … & Cuijpers, P. (2020). Stigma for common mental disorders in racial minorities and majorities: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1-20. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-08964-3
Radhakrishnan, R. K., Vallath, S., de Wit, E. E., Bunders, J. G. F., & Gopikumar, V. (2021). Developing care approaches to address the homelessness, poverty, and severe mental illnesses crisis. World J Psychiatry Ment Health Res. 2021; 5 (1), 1027. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emma-Emily-De-Wit/publication/353331979_Developing_care_approaches_to_address_the_homelessness_poverty_and_severe_mental_illnesses_crisis/links/60f52c8a0859317dbdf1d63a/Developing-care-approaches-to-address-the-homelessness-poverty-and-severe-mental-illnesses-crisis.pdf
Royal, C. D. (2023). Science, Society, and Dismantling Racism. Health Equity, 7(1), 38–44. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/heq.2022.29023.cro
Ruiz-White, I., Kramer, L., Philips, L., Wong, B., Lonergan, K., & Moreno, F. (2023). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Physical and Mental Health Care and Clinical Trials. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 84(4), 47461. https://www.psychiatrist.com/read-pdf/47461
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2023). Prioritizing Minority Mental Health. https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/minority-mental-health/index.html
Thomeer, M. B., Moody, M. D., & Yahirun, J. (2023). Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health and mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 10(2), 961–976. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8939391/
write